12:31 PM Wed 28 Apr 2010 GMT
'We are eagerly awaiting the return of Qingdao,' says Team Finland's Rob McInally. 'What have they managed to pull out of the hat? We have been having fairly good runs in regard to the rest of the fleet and all have seemed to slow of late, other than the relentless California, but what did Hannah do with the Dragon Wagon?'
This has been the question on many of the skipper's lips and certainly Hannah Jenner's tactic of playing her Stealth Mode card has succeeded in creating a nervous ripple amongst the front runners.
Cork's skipper, who has taken temporary charge of the Chinese entry says, 'The lighter winds today have meant crew are tip toeing around in a dainty manner so as not to disturb the boat's trim and, whilst it felt super slow, the scheds have revealed that our average speed was not so bad."
"We just hope that we have given our closest rivals a worrying run for their money over the last 24 hours.'
'So it is very hot out here now and with another patch of light airs forecast in the next 12 hours we have our work cut out, trimming, helming and sail changing to make sure we stay in touch with the leaders.'
With Qingdao back in view, Team Finland has managed to move ahead into second place, which is a testament to the hard work of his crew according to the team's skipper.
McInally says, 'There is no letting up in our efforts to keep a maximum speed. We seem to be gybing and peeling at least twice in every four hour watch. This effort, along with the constant focus required to trim and drive, is taking its toll on the crew but they show no signs of letting up."
"The heat is starting to play its part and the fluid consumption has already increased lots although the temperature still has a long way to go.'
As the temperatures on board continue to soar, so the winds have started to become light, and the focus amongst the crews now will be keeping up the momentum of their 32-tonne yachts.
Spirit of Australia's skipper, Brendan Hall, says, 'The wind has dropped away for us today and despite our best efforts at trimming, we could only manage a very slow speed and have lost many miles to the fleet. We take the good with the bad and are intent on not letting this lead of ours slip away.'
Out on the western side of the race track, a two-way battle is taking place between Hull & Humber and Uniquely Singapore.
'We have Uniquely Singapore a couple of miles off to our port side after hunting them down all day,' says skipper Justin Taylor. 'We've been on the trim in our constant pursuit of them.'
Similarly, Cape Breton Island has also found themselves in company as the team closes the gap with Edinburgh Inspiring Capital.
Cape Breton Island's skipper, Jan Ridd, says, 'This morning we had to change down from our medium weight kite to our lightweight kite as the winds became very light and the constant challenge began of keeping boat speed up and keeping the kite full."
"It's a task requiring concentration and team work from the helms person and the trimmers. We were rewarded by seeing a speck on the horizon slowly materialize clearly into another Clipper yacht as we cut down the distance. The crew are very focused now that the prey is clearly in sight.'
According to Edinburgh Inspiring Capital's skipper, Matt Pike, it's been an unfortunate 24 hours for the Scottish entry and to now be hunted down by Cape Breton's eagle will only be adding to the pressure.
'All was well on the big purple beastie when the cry went up 'Spinnaker's gone!' explains Matt. 'By the time I got on deck the emergency drop was well under way and in a few minutes the kite was down below and being repacked.
'The snap shackle on the guy had broken, the beak on the pole had twisted leaving it unusable and the halyard outer core had stripped! No problem, that was cut and re-spliced and the other pole was brought into operation. So back up went the spinnaker."
'Unfortunately nobody had noticed a small nick in the foot, so as it filled it started to tear. Another quick drop but not before the whole of the foot had torn clean away and a nasty looking tear was ascending up the panels."
"By the time the heavy weight was flying, the sewing machine was out and Jane and Jo were on the case to repair it. A great time working efficiently, but it still took them 12 straight hours to complete the task."
"A long night but a job well done. So by the early hours we were back under full power but still had to count the miles lost.'
It's a different story on board California, with the US entry logging some great 12-hour runs as they benefit from slightly more favourable winds behind.
'It just gets better and better,' says skipper Pete Rollason. 'By that I am referring to the performance of my crew. They are working hard to squeeze every last tenth of a knot from these light winds and have been rewarded with mileage gains over the last 24 hours."
'As expected we are seeing a distinct split in the fleet with some choosing the offshore route and some the inshore. At present we are very happy with our position in the middle of the pack and will keep you guessing as to which option California will choose. But rest assured we will be aiming to keep the guys ahead on edge and looking over their shoulder as we pull further towards the leaders.'
Positions at 0900 UTC, Tuesday 28 April
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Boat
Distance to finish
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Distance to leader
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1 Spirit of Australia
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1619nm
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2 Team Finland
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1632nm
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12nm
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3 Qingdao
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1634nm
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14nm
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4 Jamaica Lightning Bolt
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1688nm
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68nm
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5 Edinburgh Inspiring Capital
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1702nm
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82nm
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6 Cape Breton Island
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1708nm
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89nm
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7 California
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1753nm
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133nm
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8 Uniquely Singapore
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1782nm
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163nm
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9 Hull & Humber
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1785nm
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165nm
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10 Cork
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Did not start
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by Clipper Ventures PLC
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